Thailand's Post-crisis Trade Policies: The 1999 WTO Review

Thailand's trade policies were reviewed by the World Trade Organization in 1991 and 1995. The third such Trade Policy Review appeared in November 1999 and like its two predecessors this TPR is a valuable and impressive document. It appears at a particularly interesting time for Thailand's trade policies. In the immediate aftermath of the currency crisis of mid-1997 there seemed a strong possibility that the earlier commitment to liberalization might not be sustained. Not surprisingly, the crisis provoked a wide-ranging and intensive reconsideration of Thailand's economic and social policies. The theme of this paper is Thailand's trade policy response to the economic crisis.